BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Senior captain Zach Etten (Hollis,N.H.) scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Babson College Beavers to a 71-66 win over visiting Lasell College in a non-conference men's basketball contest at Staake Gymnasium on Wednesday night. With the win, Babson enters its holiday break with a record of 6-3, while the Lasers fall to 4-4.

Etten finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and five steals in a magnificent all-around performance for Babson. Sophomore Shelton Ladson (New York, N.Y.) and first-year Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) each added 12 points in the victory, while first-year Marcus Edwards (East Hampton, N.Y.) joined Etten with a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior Pat Belniak (Sutton, Mass.) also played well with eight points and five boards, and sophomore Eric White (Hyatsville, Md.) chipped in with eight points. The Beavers shot just 39.7 percent from the field, but made up for it by getting to the line 33 times and connecting on 22 of those attempts.

Senior co-captain Brad Caravoulias (Dracut, Mass.) led Lasell with 17 points and two blocked shots, while fellow senior co-captain Jose Guitian (Miami, Fla.) added 12 points, eight boards, and three blocks despite battling both foul trouble and a first-half injury. Senior Junior Sainval (Miami, Fla.) contributed 11 points for the Lasers, and first-year Kevin Richard (New Orleans, La.) tossed in eight points and dished out six assists.

Lasell built an eight-point lead after a Caravoulias jumper with eight minutes left in the first half, and the Lasers still led by eight at 28-20 with three minutes to go until the break. Babson then scored seven straight points to get to within one with 24 seconds left, but Sainval drained a jumper with five seconds remaining to give Lasell a 30-27 cushion heading into the locker room. Sainval paced the Lasers with nine points in the opening period, while Papalambros netted 10 points in the first for Babson.

The Beavers came out firing in the second half, netting the first seven points of the period to grab a 34-27 lead. The hosts would eventually push their advantage to seven on two occasions before Lasell used an 8-0 run to jump back in front, 54-53, with 8:33 remaining. However, the Beavers responded by scoring nine of the game's next 10 points to re-establish their seven-point lead, 51-44, with 5:27 to go.  

The Lasers again made a run to cut their deficit to two after a Caravoulias three-pointer made it 67-65 with 1:58 left to play, but Etten answered with a foul-line jumper to push Babson's edge to 69-65 with 1:26 on the clock. Lasell got one more point on a free throw by junior Charles Horton (Worcester, Mass.) with 1:18 left, but the Beavers sealed the win with a freebie apiece by Belniak and Etten in the final 30 seconds as the hosts claimed the 71-66 victory.